India's Udayan Mane was lying tied 12th after an even par 72 in the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at the famed Royal Melbourne Golf Club here.
     Mane, who was tied fourth at the Asian Games and missed a medal by a whisker, was the best among the Indians on the opening day of the event yesterday.
     Among other Indians, Rigel Fernandes (74) was 30th, Viraj Madappa (75) was tied 38th, Aman Raj (78) was 57th, Syed Saqib Ahmed (80) was 75th and Manu Gandas (82) was 85th.
     Australia's Todd Sinnott holds the first-round lead after a fine five-under-par 67. Sinnott, 22, is renowned in elite amateur circles for his long hitting, but today he played the Composite Course at Royal Melbourne like an expert, deploying two irons off the tee and using his driver just twice.
     He also had the good fortune of the benign early morning conditions that favoured all the players on that side of the draw, rolling in seven birdie putts including a 10-footer at the 17th hole and a 20-footer at 

Mane best Indian at 12th, Sinnott leads in Asia-Pacific C'ship

PTI Automatic

FC Goa fans might have been disappointed with their team's 1-2 loss against Atletico de Kolkata in the Hero India Super League (ISL) game, here today, but coach Zico was still pleased with the way his team played especially in the first half where they took the lead.
     Andre Santos gave the hosts the lead in the 21st minute but they failed to keep the pressure as Cavin Lobo's second-half brace ensured Kolkata's lead at the top grew bigger.
      "We created chances like our previous matches but could not cash on to it and once was unlucky that post came in the way to deny us the second goal which should have sealed the game in our favour. But we will try hard and try to win our next match," said Zico after the loss.
     Zico also alleged that a half-time altercation between senior player Robert Pires and Kolkata coach Antonio Lopes Habas also played on the players mind through the second half.
     "The other thing that happened which is more serious is that one of our players ...

We will fight to win next match: Zico

Indian shuttlers continued to surge ahead in the French Open Super Series as Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap won their respective singles second-round matches while Ashwini Ponappa also advanced in the mixed doubles, here today.
     The fifth-seeded Saina was made to work hard by Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland in her 21-19 21-16 win in the second round of the women's singles.
      Saina, who took just 37 minutes to outplay local girl Sashina Vignes Wara in the opening round, outplayed Kirsty in 39 minutes.
     Commonwealth Games gold medallist Parupalli Kashyap also had it tough against China's Houwei Tian 21-19 21-18 to make it to the third round.
     Kashyap, who had upset World No.4 Kenichi Tago of Japan in the first round of men's singles draw yesterday, got past his Chinese opponent in 45 minutes.
     In mixed doubles, Ponnappa and Ivanov got past the Chinese pair of Lu Kai and Huang Yaqiong 21-8 18-21 21-9 in the second round.
     The Indo-Russian pair of Ponnappa and ...

Saina, Kashyap advance in French Open

Slamming AIBA's decision to not only hand provisional suspension to boxer Sarita Devi but also India's Asiad chef-de-mission Adille J. Sumariwalla, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Secretary General Rajeev Mehta today said that the move is an insult to the nation.
     "Handing provisional suspension on chef-de-mission was an insult to the country and to IOA and the AIBA has no jurisdiction and right to pass strictures on Adille Sumariwala," Mehta told PTI.
     "The IOA is writing a protest letter to the OCA and the IOC in this regard. We will say that what the AIBA has done (suspension of chef-de-mission) was totally wrong," he added.
     Taking strict action yesterday, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) provisionally suspended Sarita Devi for refusing to accept the bronze medal at the Asian Games podium ceremony. But Mehta said that the move is unjustified after the Manipuri boxer had apologised for the act.
     "Regarding the provisional suspension of Sarita Devi, she ..

Suspending chef-de-mission was nation's insult: IOA secy Mehta

East Bengal midfielder Gavin Lobo scored a brace in the second half to help table-toppers Atletico de Kolkata overcome a one goal deficit and edge past hosts FC Goa 2-1 in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, here today.
     It was Brazil International Andre Santos, who opened the scoring for Goa in the 21st minute as the home crowd erupted with joy.
     Clifford Miranda from the right send a long cross in the middle for Santos, who controlled the ball inside the box and essayed a left-footer that saw the ball nest at the roof of the net.
       Kolkata, who lacked creative in the absence of captain Luis Gracia came with couple of good moves but the alert rival defenders led by Youness Bengelloun and Gregory Arnolin did the marking well.
       Frustrated for not getting the equaliser, the visitors displayed a physical game, which saw Borja Fernandes and Fikru Teferra earn a yellow card in the first half.
     Kolkata, who have now consolidated their ..

Lobo's brace helps Kolkata down Goa in ISL

Oscar Pistorius' agent is seeking a prison meeting with the double-amputee athlete in the next few days to discuss his career, with South Africa's Olympic committee saying today the runner cannot compete for the full five years of his jail sentence.
	The decision of the South African Olympic body matches that of the International Paralympic Committee, which said Pistorius cannot run in its events for five years while serving his sentence for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, even if he is released early to go under house arrest.
	Agent Peet van Zyl told The Associated Press that lawyers will meet with Pistorius in prison tomorrow.
	After that it will become clearer when Van Zyl and Pistorius' longtime track coach, Ampie Louw, can talk to him about his running future, he said.
	"We would like to see the young man," Van Zyl said.
	Van Zyl said no discussions have been held over the Olympian and multiple Paralympic champion's track career because Pistorius was taken straight to prison .

Pistorius, agent to have prison talks over career

Petra Kvitova beat Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-2 at the WTA Finals on Thursday, further eroding the Russian player's hopes of claiming the year-end No. 1 ranking.
     Sharapova, who needs to win the title and rely on Serena Williams not reaching the final in Singapore to overtake the American for top spot, fell to a 0-2 record while Kvitova is 1-1 in the White Group round-robin stage.
     In order for Sharapova to progress to the semifinals, she will need to win her last match against Agnieszka Radwanska and rely on Caroline Wozniacki beating Kvitova, and have both matches decided in straight sets.
     Sharapova, who lost the Wimbledon final to Kvitova in 2011, had beaten the Czech left-hander in their past five meetings and started brightly by winning the opening two games. But Kvitova took over from there, winning 11 of the next 12 games.
     Kvitova said she was feeling burnt out during her first-round loss to Radwanska, so took an unusual approach to freshen up for Thursday's ...

Kvitova beats Sharapova 6-3, 6-2 at WTA Finals

Making their first appearance in the WTA Finals here, Sania Mirza and Cara Black started their campaign on the right foot by serving past Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears to book their semi-finals berth today.
     The Indo-Zimbabwe pair, playing their last tournament together, were made to work hard by the US duo of Raquel and Abigail as they won the match in super tie-break 6-3 2-6 12-10.
     Sania, who has split up with Cara, will partner Chinese Taipei's Su-Wei Hsieh from next year.
     For the first time in the 44 years history of WTA Finals, a city in Asia Pacific region is hosting the prestigious year-end tournament.
     Top singles players comprising Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep and the defending doubles' champions Su-wei and Shuai Peng are all competing in the prestigious event.
     The singles players are competing in a round-robin format, while the doubles team's will play in a single-elimination, each battling for the title and the prize money of .

Sania-Cara enter semis at year-end WTA meet

Australia got off to a solid start after wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed's brilliant hundred guided Pakistan to a big first innings total of 454 in the first Test in Dubai on Thursday.
     Opener David Warner smashed a quickfire 75 and Chris Rogers was on 31 to take Australia to 113 without loss at close of play on the second day, trailing by 341 runs with all ten wickets standing.
     Warner hit seven fours and a six in his eighth Test half-century, his sixth in succession, as Australia matched Pakistan's batting.
     Pakistan could have removed Rogers on 13 in left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar's first over but Younis Khan failed to hold a straightforward catch in the slips. Warner reverse-swept debutant leg-spinner Yasir Shah for his fifth boundary to reach his run-a-ball 50.
     Earlier, Pakistan's total had been lifted by Ahmed. Ahmed, who scored his first hundred in Sri Lanka two months ago, fell in the last over before tea, stumped off spinner Nathan Lyon for 109. He batted for 148 

Australia hit back after Pakistan's 454 in first Test

Indian shuttlers continued to surge ahead in the ongoing French Open Super Series underway here as Saina Nehwal made it to the women's singles third round while Ashwini Ponappa also won her second-round match with mixed doubles partner Vladimir Ivanov, here today.
     The fifth-seeded Saina was made to work hard by Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland in her 21-19 21-16 win in the second round of the tournament.
      Saina, who took just 37 minutes to outplay local girl Sashina Vignes Wara in the opening round, outplayed Kirsty in 39 minutes.
     In mixed doubles, Ponnappa and Ivanov got past the Chinese pair of Lu Kai and Huang Yaqiong 21-8 18-21 21-9 in the second round.
     The Indo-Russian pair of Ponnappa and Ivanov also took 39 minutes to dispatch their seventh-seeded opponents.
     The Ponappa-Ivanov duo had got the better of Keigo Sonoda and Shizuka Matsuo of Japan in the first round match.
     Earlier, Commonwealth Games gold medallist Parupalli Kashyap had stunned World No4 ...

Saina in French Open Round 3, Ponappa wins mixed doubles match

There seems to be no end to the troubles of West Indies Cricket Board as former coach Ottis Gibson today accused the board of sacking him over a "telephone call".
     According to a report published in 'Jamaica Gleaner', Gibson categorically dismissed the then WICB statement that "they mutually agreed to end their association".
     The announcement of Gibson's departure came on the eve of the One-Day International series with Bangladesh.
     Gibson, who took up the post in January 2010 after a spell as England's bowling coach, said "I was shocked when WICB president Whycliffe 'Dave' Cameron fired me over the phone."
     According to the newspaper report, Gibson said that Cameron had apparently told him that players had lost confidence in him.
     Gibson's finest moment with the Windies came when he led them to victory in the ICC World Twenty20 two years ago.
     However, the Windies only won nine of 36 Tests under the 45-year-old, with only four series victories, three of which .

WICB sacked me over a telephone call: Former WI coach Gibson

Indian ace Pankaj Advani and Sourav Kothari set the green baize on fire to ensure a semi-final clash between themselves after registering resounding wins in their last-16 and quarter-finals clashes respectively in the 150 up format of World Billiards Championship underway here.
     Former champion Advani, who has already pocketed eight world billiards titles, first eased past another ex-champ David Causier 4-0 in the last-16 match to be one of the four Indians to enter the last-8.
     Kothari and Punjab cueist Alok Kumar also got past their respective opponents without losing a single frame in the pre-quarterfinals.
     Maharashtra ace Dhruv Sitwala though had to work hard for his 4-2 win against fellow country and state mate Nalin Patel.
     The other Indians in the fray, Rupesh Shah, Siddharth Parikh, Devendra Joshi, Arun Agarwal and Jaiveer Dhingra, lost their respective matches to bow out.
     The party though continued for India, as national cue sport poster boy, Advani ...

Advani, Kothari in World Billiards semis

Wicketkeeper-batsman Naman Ojha continued from where he left on the opening day to notch up his second double ton in first-class cricket this year to help Central Zone amass 538 on Day 2 of the four-day Duleep Trophy semi-final match against North Zone, here today.
     In reply, North ended Thursday on 130 for two with skipper Gautam Gambhir on 68 and Yuvraj Singh on 25 battling it out.
     But the day belonged to Ojha, who started on his overnight score of 122 to smash 217 runs - his second-highest first-class score after his unbeaten 219 against Australia A in July.
     Madhya Pradesh batsman Ojha, who has played an ODI for India, struck 23 boundaries and 3 sixes in his seven-hour eight minutes stay at the crease to give the North bowlers a hard time.
     In his last four first-class innings, Ojha, 31, has accumulated an astounding 647 runs, improving his over-all average to around 43.
     Starting on the overnight score of 344 for three, Central Zone, who had elected to bat, ..

Central Zone reign supreme after Ojha double ton

Sporting Clube de Goa recruited Trinidad and Tobago international Anthony Wolfe as its new marquee player at the Models office in Panjim, here today.
     "I am delighted to have signed for one of the most exciting teams in Indian professional Football," expressed Wolfe, moments after signing on the dotted line for Sporting Goa.
     Wolfe was part of the Trinidad and Tobago squad that qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
     "Going to the World Cup is a dream for any footballer. It is an experience that I will never forget," reasoned Wolfe.
     Trinidad historically became the smallest nation to ever qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a population of around 1.3 million people, which is even smaller than the beautiful Indian state of Goa.
     During his time with the national team, Wolfe worked under legendary Dutch Coach Leo Beenhakker, who has won titles with Real Madrid, Ajax and Feynoord.
     "I have learnt so much from Beenhakker. He along with many local ...

Wolfe unveiled as Sporting Clube de Goa's new marquee player

Goa Cricket Association (GCA) has decided to take strict action against its secretary Chetan Desai for responding to a notice issued by the state government to the cricketing body "without taking it into confidence".
     The Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) had issued a showcause notice to GCA on August 28 asking why action should not be taken against the body, for allowing GCA chief Vinod Fadke, indicted among others by Justice Pendse Commission in the 2001 India-Australia 'fake-ticket scam', to participate in affairs of the body.
     "The reply filed on behalf of GCA before SAG and also a petition filed by him (Desai) before the Bombay High Court for staying the investigation order (against Fadke) are unauthorised and without permission from managing committee members," said a resolution passed by GCA Managing Committee today.
	The meeting chaired by senior vice-president Dr Shekhar Salkar also resolved that strict action should be taken against Desai for bypassing the managing ...

GCA to take action against its secretary for 'exceeding brief'

All-rounder Stuart Binny tormented the East Zone batsmen with his controlled swing bowling as they lost as many as 14 wickets with South Zone marching towards a comprehensive innings victory at the end of second day in the semi-final of the Duleep Trophy.
     Starting the day at 236 for nine South's first innings ended at 264 with last pair of HS Sharath (6 no) and Abhimanyu Mithun (23) batting out the first hour.
     The South bowlers then came out all guns blazing to skittle East for a paltry 84 as Binny was the pick of the bowlers with figures of four for 24 from 13 overs.
     With a huge lead of 180 runs, South captain Ranganath Vinay Kumar decided to enforce the follow-on but East didn't fare any better in the their second essay tottering at 30 for 4 when stumps were drawn.
     With 150 runs still needed to avoid innings defeat, the manner in which Manoj Tiwary and company batted doesn't inspire confidence of highest order. Binny again turned out to be the wrecker-in-chief as 

Binny wreaks havoc as South march towards crushing innings win

Tuff Laxmi Prasad's N D Opera scored a brace to down Air Force 2-1 in the Preliminary Qualifying round of the 127th Durand Cup played at the Signals ground here today.
     Tuff Laxmi Prasad, who led 1-0 at half time scored through Opera(21st, 65th).
     Air Force improved their game in several notches in the second half and reduced the margin in the 50th minute.
     Tuff Laxmi Prasad, who have seven I-League players, were expected to score an easy win but for lack of finishing by their front line.
     Opera put his side in the lead in the 21st minute when he received the ball on the left and raced into the box before beating rival keeper Shibin Raj with a deft placement.
     Tuff Laxmi Prasad had the lion's share of possession that could have led to a bigger lead in the first half but Seriton Kundaikar and Opera twice missed open chances.
     Air Force found the equaliser in the 50th minute when Vivek headed the ball into the net from inside the box off a cross from Shahbaz M.
  

Opera brace grounds Air Force

Saketh Myneni entered the singles semifinals and doubles final of the ATP Challenger at the Mhalunge Balewadi Tennis Complex here today.
     Saketh scored his second consecutive win in two weeks over top seeded Aleksandr Nedovyesov of Kazakhstan winning 6-3 6-4 in one hour and four minutes. He made his singles win sweeter by reaching the doubles final with compatriot Sanam Singh, registering a 6-2 5-7 10-7 win over the Japanese pair of Toshide Matsui and Yasutaka Yuchiyama.
     India's other hope, seventh seeded Yuki Bhambri, squandered a 4-1 lead in the second set to go down 3-6 4-6 against fourth seeded Yuichi Sugita of Japan. The Japanese had earlier ousted Yuki in the semifinals of Asian Games last month.
     Eighth seeded Kimmer Coppejans who has a Challenger title to his credit this year scraped past a fighting Adam Pavlasek of Czech Republic 3-6 6-3 6-4 in two hours. Coppejans will clash with sixth seed Spaniard Adrian Menendez Macarias, who upset second seed Russian ...

Saketh Myneni enters singles semis and doubles final

Pakistan, inspired by a fiery ton by wicket-keeper batsman Sarfraz Ahmed, reached 454-8 at tea on the second day of the opening Test against Australia in Dubai on Thursday.
     Ahmed fell in the last over before the interval for 109 after scoring his second Test hundred.
     Zulfiqar Babar was seven not out as Pakistan plundered 235 runs in the two sessions on a flat Dubai stadium pitch.
     Earlier Misbah-ul Haq scored 69 and Asad Shafiq made 89.
     Mitchell Johnson took 3-39 while left-arm spinner Steve O'Keefe had figures of 2-107.
     The second and final Test will be played in Abu Dhabi from October 30.

Pakistan 454-8 at tea in first Test

He may be away from home for Diwali, but Anirban Lahiri ensured a fine celebration with fireworks at the Macau Golf and Country Club, where he shot a magnificent bogey-free 10-under-par 61 to take lead at the Venetian Macau Open, here today.
      He was one shot clear of the in-form defending champion Scott Hend of Australia.
     After eight birdies, four on either side of the course, Lahiri capped it all by draining a 15-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole. It was a career low round and it also bettered his last year's record-equaling 62 in the final round, which saw him finish runner-up.
     It was a good day for the Indians as SSP Chowrasia, fifth last week in Hong Kong, and Jyoti Randhawa, who are running into good form, shot five-under 66 each to be tied sixth, while Chiragh Kumar (69) was tied 19th.
     A total of 14 Indians teed up this week as Arjun Atwal, Angad Cheema, M Dharma and Himmat Rai carded 70 each to be tied 34th, while Jeev Milkha Singh shot 71 to be tied 60th. ...

Lahiri lights up Macau with 10-under 61, Jyoti, Chowrasia 6th

Former England allrounder Andrew Flintoff has signed a short-term contract as Brisbane Heat's star recruit for Australia's Twenty20 Big Bash cricket competition.
     The Heat confirmed today that 36-year-old Flintoff, who played 79 tests and 141 limited-overs internationals, would arrive in December to play the last half of the tournament and also work as a television analyst.
     Flintoff came out of retirement in May, and helped Lancashire reach the English T20 Blast final in August. Heat coach Stuart Law said he wants Flintoff to be bowling fast, hitting sixes, and using his wealth of experience to help the squad.
     Law says, "Brisbane fans will quickly discover he's a champion fella and I'm sure they will love having him with the team."
     Flintoff, the 2005 Ashes player of the series, and former England teammate Kevin Pietersen are two of the tournament's marquee signings.

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